Commentary on the Seventh Decade

Grok-ing as much as I can

As I proceed through my sixties, I seem to become better at grok-ing. To grok something is to understand it so profoundly that its nature is intuitively clear to you. When you grok someone you truly “get” them. You can grok animals or plants. You can even grok your favorite pillow.

Apparently, there are very few words in English that come from extraterrestrial sources, but grok is one of them. It is from the language of fictional Martians in Rober Heinlein’s 1961 science fiction novel, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” The book’s main character is Michael Valentine Smith, a human raised by Martians, who brings the word to Earth.

When Heinlein’s book became popular, the word spread among young people, and today it has become a well established part of the language. The word needs to be re-introduced so that it is used repeatedly and in context in our sixties. The more we grok, the better the chance for peace, harmony, and understanding in the world.